Overview

Signed on November 24, 1922, the Colorado River Compact is the cornerstone of a proverbial pyramid—an elaborate body of laws colloquially called the “Law of the River” that governs how human beings use water from the river system dubbed the “American Nile.” No fewer than forty million people have come to rely on the Colorado River system in modern times—a river system immersed in an unprecedented, unrelenting megadrought for more than two decades. Attempting to navigate this “new normal,” policymakers are in the midst of negotiating new management rules for the river system, a process coinciding with the compact’s centennial that must be completed by 2026. Animated by this remarkable confluence of events, Cornerstone at the Confluence leverages the centennial year to reflect on the compact and broader “Law of the River” to envision the future. It is a volume inviting dialogue about how the Colorado River system’s flows should be apportioned given climate change, what should be done about environmental issues such as ecosystem restoration and biodiversity protection, and how long-standing issues of water justice facing Native American communities should be addressed. In one form or another, all these topics touch on the concept of “equity” embedded within the compact—a concept that tees up what is perhaps the foundational question confronted by Cornerstone at the Confluence: Who should have a seat at the table of Colorado River governance?

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Reviews

This book collects an impressive and interdisciplinary group of Colorado River experts who provide thoughtful and original contributions on how we can reconsider our collective vision of the most important river basin in the United States. The result is an authoritative yet accessible exploration of the original sins of the Colorado River Compact, the Law of the River that has emerged over the past century, and-most importantly-a series of careful ruminations about what the future may hold for the river, its Native peoples, and the forty million people who depend on it in the face of unrelenting demands and global climate change. Cornerstone at the Confluence returns repeatedly to a founding principle of the compact-that of equity-and finds hope that we can reform our management of the basin away from zero-sum allocation and toward a more comprehensive and ethical governance. -Burke W. Griggs, co-author of Water Resource Management: A Casebook in Law and Public Policy

Author Information

Jason Anthony Robison is a professor of law at the University of Wyoming. Reflecting his deep love of the American West, Professor Robison’s writing and teaching revolve around water, public lands, and Native peoples. He was lead editor of the sesquicentennial volume, Vision and Place: John Wesley Powell and Reimagining the Colorado River Basin, and he authors the long-running treatise, Law of Water Rights and Resources.

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